Community perceptions of repeat HIV-testing

In the context of the ANRS 12249 Treatment as Prevention (TasP) trial, we investigated perceptions of regular and repeat HIV-testing in rural KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), an area of very high HIV prevalence and incidence. We conducted two qualitative studies, before (2010) and during the early implementation stages of the trial (2013-2014), to appreciate the evolution in community perceptions of repeat HIV-testing over this period of rapid changes in HIV-testing and treatment approaches. Repeated focus group discussions were organized with young adults, older adults and mixed groups. Repeat and regular HIV-testing was overall well perceived before, and well received during, trial implementation. Yet community members were not able to articulate reasons why people might want to test regularly or repeatedly, apart from individual sexual risk-taking. Repeat home-based HIV-testing was considered as feasible and convenient, and described as more acceptable than clinic-based HIV-testing, mostly because of privacy and confidentiality. However, socially regulated discourses around appropriate sexual behaviour and perceptions of stigma and prejudice regarding HIV and sexual risk-taking were consistently reported. This study suggests several avenues to improve HIV-testing acceptability, including implementing diverse and personalised approaches to HIV-testing and care, and providing opportunities for antiretroviral therapy initiation and care at home

Antiretroviral therapy · Confidentiality · Family medicine · Focus group · Geography · Psychiatry · Public health · Qualitative research · Treatment as prevention · Viral load · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · HIV/AIDS Impact and Responses · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology · Gerontology

• I don’t want them to know”

  Open Access•Shona Horter, Bernay et al.•African Journal of AIDS Research•2019

  Incluir item

• Sexual Attitudes, Beliefs, Practices, and HIV Risk During Pregnancy and Post-delivery

  Open Access•Julia Ryan, Alinda M Young et al.•AIDS and Behavior•2021

  Incluir item

• Correlates of Undiagnosed HIV Infection and Retesting Among Voluntary HIV Testing Clients at Mildmay Clinic, Uganda

  Open Access•Avi J Hakim, Barbara Mukasa et al.•AIDS and Behavior•2018

  Incluir item

• Men, masculinity, and engagement with treatment as prevention in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

  Open Access•Jeremiah Chikovore, Natasha Gillespie et al.•AIDS Care•2016

  Incluir item

• Exploring critical questions for the implementation of “universal test and treat” approaches to HIV prevention and care

  Open Access•Lyn Reynolds, Lindsey J Reynolds et al.•AIDS Care•2016

  Incluir item

• HIV retesting and risk behaviors among high-risk, HIV-uninfected adults in Uganda

  Open Access•Kara Marson, Alex Ndyabakira et al.•AIDS Care•2021

  Incluir item

• Costs and economies of scale in repeated home-based HIV counselling and testing

  Open Access•Marwân-Al-Qays Bousmah, Collins Iwuji et al.•Social Science & Medicine•2022

  Incluir item

• Dissonance of Choice

  Open Access•Shona Horter, Janet Seeley et al.•Medical Anthropology•2020

  Incluir item

• Towards Universal Voluntary HIV Testing and Counselling

  Open Access•Amitabh B Suthar, Nathan Ford et al.•PLoS Medicine•2013

  Incluir item

• Universal voluntary HIV testing with immediate antiretroviral therapy as a strategy for elimination of HIV transmission

  Open Access•Reuben Granich, Reuben M Granich et al.•The Lancet•2009

  Incluir item

• Increases in Adult Life Expectancy in Rural South Africa

  Open Access•Joep Bor, Jacob Bor et al.•Science•2013

  Incluir item

• High Coverage of ART Associated with Decline in Risk of HIV Acquisition in Rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

  Open Access•Frank Tanser, Till Bärnighausen et al.•Science•2013

  Incluir item

• The HIV testing experiences of adolescents in Ndola, Zambia

  Julie A Denison, Ann P Mccauley et al.•AIDS Care•2008

  Incluir item

• Men, masculinity, and engagement with treatment as prevention in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

  Open Access•Jeremiah Chikovore, Natasha Gillespie et al.•AIDS Care•2016

  Incluir item

• Addressing social issues in a universal HIV test and treat intervention trial (ANRS 12249 TasP) in South Africa

  Open Access•Joanna Orne-Gliemann, Joseph Larmarange et al.•BMC Public Health•2015

  Incluir item

• Psychosocial Impact of Repeat HIV-Negative Testing

  Open Access•Karen Ryder, Dennis J Haubrich et al.•AIDS and Behavior•2005

  Incluir item

• Repeat Voluntary HIV Counseling and Testing (VCT), Sexual Risk Behavior and HIV Incidence in Rakai, Uganda

  Open Access•Joseph K B Matovu, Ronald H Gray et al.•AIDS and Behavior•2006

  Incluir item

• Should Home-Based HIV Testing and Counseling Services be Offered Periodically in Programs of ARV Treatment as Prevention? A Case Study in Likoma (Malawi)

  Open Access•Helleringer, James Mkandawire et al.•AIDS and Behavior•2012

  Incluir item

• The Impact of HIV Testing on Subjective Expectations and Risky Behavior in Malawi

  Open Access•Adeline Delavande, Hans‐peter Kohler et al.•Demography•2012

  Incluir item

• Do Open-Ended Questions Measure "Salient" Issues

  John G Geer•Public Opinion Quarterly•1991

  Incluir item